


Half Blood Heir

by IRegretNothingAndEverything



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Kinda kidnapping but like, Rating subject to change, Severus Snape Adopts Harry Potter, Severus Snape raises Harry Potter, a lot subject to change, harry doesn't mind, warnings subject to change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-23
Updated: 2019-10-04
Packaged: 2020-09-24 11:08:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20357476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IRegretNothingAndEverything/pseuds/IRegretNothingAndEverything
Summary: Four years after the Potter's death, Snape finds out that Petunia is the one who has custody of Harry. He finds this unacceptable and deigns to look into it himself. Upon finding the condition the five year old was in, Snape took him from the home to raise the boy who lived himself. Life Debt repaid, James.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Legit, I read a bunch of rewrites of the Harry Potter series, and my brain went 'write one' and I went 'oh, huh, okay then'

Minerva was the one who let it slip to him. A still rather new professor, and still grieving Lily, Severus didn’t interact with many of the other professors. He kept his facade of uncaring, and slipped through the cracks and was left alone, how he wanted it. Minerva, however, was not someone he could easily shake. She refused to let him completely isolate, and, though he would never say it, he was grateful to her being there for him. He knew he would have slipped completely into grief and never left the dungeons if not for her. 

She didn’t often talk about Harry, on orders from Dumbledore he was sure, but sometimes she would get a wistful look in her eyes, and she’d smile and start with James, and Severus would sit and wait for her to get through that, knowing what would come at the end. She would drift eventually, into little Harry Potter, how small he was when held by Hagrid, how quiet he had been. Severus knew that he wouldn’t have been in Harry’s life if Lily had lived, and let himself believe, instead, in these moments, that he was back with his old friend, listening to her talk of her son. 

“Of course, I don’t know what Albus insisted we leave him with that muggle family, but he said it would be best if he was with family.” Severus frowned, looking over at Minerva a moment. 

“Muggle family?” He asked, quiet, hoping his question wouldn’t bring her out of her small trance, wouldn’t remind her she wasn’t supposed to talk about this. Minerva sighed softly, closing her eyes and nodding. 

“I think it was Lily’s sister that married and had a son of her own, down in Little Whinging, Surrey I think. Privet Drive, can’t remember the number at the moment.” Minevra hummed a moment, before looking over at him sharply as he stood. “Severus? Are you alright?” 

“I’ve just remembered a potion the headmaster asked me to brew.” He lied, easy and quick through his teeth like he had been able to do for years now. Minevra blinked a moment. 

“You’re not one to forget things like that.” She cast a critical eye on him, and Severus forced himself to stay still under her scouring eyes. He thought a moment, before sighing. 

“You know I was friends with Lily for a short time. Sometimes… it’s easier to listen to someone talk about them, to… relive some memories I suppose. I got distracted. I’ll have to ask you to excuse me, it was rather urgent.” Severus smiled softly, and Minevera seemed to tear up a moment before nodding and turning away. Severus turned, walking from the room quickly. 

He didn’t go down to the dungeons, however, instead turning and slipping out of the castle. It was a Christmas break, so very few children were still around. There were a few Ravenclaws sitting on the windowsill near the doors outside, but they didn’t look up from whatever they were collectively pouring over, so Severus gave them the same courtesy and passed them by. 

Carefully, he bundled his cloak around him a bit tighter, before stepping out into the winter white that had become the grounds over the past couple months. He sighed, casting a quick Warming Charm, and continued down the hidden road towards Hogsmead. Severus thought his story through while walking, making his excuses in his head as he did so, trying not to appear in too much of a hurry, though, any panic that made his steps faster could be blamed on the cold. 

Lucky for him, he managed to get out of the bounds of Hogwarts’ charms and barriers without incident, and quickly turned on his heel, and apparated away. 

* * *

The street was dark and quiet when Severus appeared at the corner, much like Albus had four years prior. He looked around, then carefully walked around the corner onto Privet Drive, looking around for a moment, before carefully drawing his wand and whispering to it. “Appare Vestigium.” 

A golden mist formed around him, and, to his surprise, he found two traces of magic. One was weak, enough to make a Wizard seem Muggle. A Squib, than. He looked towards the house that they lived in, and nodded a moment, before turning to follow the much stronger, though adolescent, trail of magic, to the house across the street. 

In silence, he stood on the sidewalk in front of the house, pausing a moment and glancing around, before shifting and lifting his wand once more. “Invisibilia occultatum.” 

The spell was a bit stronger than the locating one, but it did its job, rendering Severus completely invisible to the human eye for a short period of time. It was useful to him, in a way, and he shifted, going towards the window, peeking in. 

Christmas afternoon with a normal looking family. He saw no sign of Harry, frowning a moment at the fat little boy sitting in his mother’s lap, laughing, face covered in chocolate. He shifted, then snapped and apperated once more, into the house. 

He landed quiet, though the snap of apparition was not one that was easy to hide. Petunia’s head snapped up towards the sound, but Snape made no move, staring at her, as he stood unseen in the middle of her living room. She looked much the same as she had the last time he had seen her, with a much older, stern face. It took a moment, but her son distracted her, and she let the snap go, looking back to her child. 

Severus glanced around, carefully taking a few more steps, keeping the light, though he didn’t know the weak spots of this floor well enough to avoid them, he seemed to do a good enough job that Petunia didn’t look up again. 

He walked carefully towards the stairs, then paused at the noise he heard under them, frowning. He shifted, quietly walking over and pressing his ear to the door. 

Sobbing. There was a child sobbing under the stairs. Fury built up inside Severus, but he knew he had to play the cards right. He shifted, attempting to see if he could look inside the cupboard, but found no way to do so without alert who he was sure was Harry on the inside. He let out a soft sigh, before shifting and apperating out with another crack, one he was sure that Petunia heard. 

Back on the sidewalk, he felt the charm begin to wear off, as he came back into visibility. He stood there a moment, staring at the door, before nodding, refusing to let anything come in the way of what had to be done. He would not let a child suffer this way if he could stop it. He knew the pain of that. 

With that, Severus made his choice, going towards the door and knocking sharply. He was glad, at that moment, he hadn’t changed out of his robes, knowing Petunia would be unsettled by his appearance in them. He was far from the scared little kid she had met a long time ago. 

The door opened, and Severus reveled in her gasp. He shifted, stepping up onto the doorway, forcing her to move out of his way, to where he had been standing a few minutes before. He looked around, frowning softly. “Where is the boy?” He let his voice adopt the one he used when teaching most of the time. Petunia shuddered, before glaring at him, eyes narrowed. 

“Get out of my house, Severus.” Ah, so she did know who he was. He looked back at her, eyes narrowed, taking a step towards her. She didn’t seem to react until his hand came from under his cloak, wand at the ready 

“Tell me where Lily’s son is.” He hissed under his breath at her, and Petunia waved a hand towards where the sobbing had come from. Severus sighed, slipping his wand back into place and taking a step towards the door. 

He shifted slightly, then knocked once. The sniffling abruptly stopped, and, slowly, the door opened, and Harry’s face peeked out at him. For a moment, he was struck by how similar he was to James, but the moment he looked at his eyes, all he saw was Lily. He smiled softly at the boy, crouching down to be at his height better. Harry watched him, wary, and Severus hated the way that he knew exactly why the boy was so scared. 

“Hello Harry. I’m Severus. I was a friend of your mother’s.” Harry blinked and opened the door a bit more, shifting to slip out of the cupboard he had been in. Severus took the chance to peek in and found nothing of import. He kept the frown he wanted off his face, before shifting slightly and holding out a hand to Harry, who flinched back at first, before staring at his outstretched hand. 

“There’s been a bit of a mix up, about where you were supposed to go. It turns out, Lily, your mother, put me as next of kin, not your Aunt.” Severus bluffed his way through this, but when he was done, Harry would be under his care anyways. He would do whatever he had to to keep him safe. Consider the life debt paid, James. 

“What’s that mean?” Harry asked softly, voice quiet in a way Severus knew far too well. Severus shot a look at Petunia. 

“It means that I am the one whose going to take care of you now.” He smiled softly, keeping his hand outstretched towards him. “That way, you can see everything about your parent’s world.” 

Petunia made an aborted movement towards them, and Severus turned his head to stare at her, which made her stop, and finally flee to the living room. Severus smiled softly and turned his attention back to Harry, who tilted his head a bit. 

“My… parents’ world?” He asked quietly, carefully taking a step towards Severus, who nodded. 

“You are a wizard, dear boy. Weird things happening you can’t explain?” He asked softly to the incredulous look on Harry’s face. Harry paused, before nodding slowly. “Magic. I can show you more, if you come with me.” 

Harry looked around quietly, before back to Severus. “No more cupboard?” He asked quietly, and Severus forced himself not to fling himself into the living room firing curses. 

“No more cupboard.” 

Harry stared quietly, before nodding a bit, shifting and pressing himself into Severus’s chest. He paused, before carefully lifting the boy into his arms, standing with him and leaving the house, the door open and Petunia left behind cradling her own son. 

Severus shifted and walked down the street to the corned, glancing around once, before looking at the boy in his arms. “Hold tight, alright, and I’ll show you a bit more magic.” Harry nodded a bit, and Severus shifted on his feet and apperated out. 

* * *

Severus shifted slightly, landing carefully in Hogsmeade, shifting a bit to cover Harry in his cloak. The boy started, lifting his head, eyes going wide. “Where are we?” he asked softly. 

“Hogsmeade. It’s a small town just outside of where we’ll be staying.” He answered softly, shifting Harry to one arm-it was worrying how easy it was to hold him there-and cast a careful Warming Charm on the boy, who shifted, looking at his wand with quiet curiosity. Severus put that aside for a later time, instead taking a brisk pace back to the castle. He had the boy now, and that was more important than anything else. 

Severus got into the castle without much hassle, shutting the doors behind him. The Ravenclaws from before were still there, but this time they looked up, seeing Snape, and then seeing Harry, wrapped up in his cloak and half asleep. Snape looked down at him, than towards the Ravens’, frowning. “Don’t mention this to anyone.” With that he swept off, doing his best to get to the dungeons before anyone saw him. 

His luck was never the best, but he got down there before Minerva saw him. “Severus! There you are, I was looking for…” She trailed off into silence, seeing the boy cradled in his arms, shifting in his sleep and clinging onto Severus. He stopped, looking down at the boy, then back to Minerva. 

“If you follow me, I can and will explain.” Minerva stared, before sighing and motioning for him to lead the way. With that, he walked off down the halls to his person quarters, stepping inside and trusting Minerva to shut the door. He carefully lay Harry down on the bed there, keeping him wrapped up in the cloak, petting his hair back out of his eyes, before looking over to Minerva. 

One good thing about the head of the Gryffindors, he supposed, was that she was careful to listen to someone when they did what they did. He could admit he wouldn’t always do that, but she did give him the chance. He sighed, sitting next to Harry, watching him quietly. “Petunia had him in a cupboard. Christmas night and he’s crying alone in that cupboard while his cousin sits and laughs and gorges himself on chocolate and they ignore him. He didn’t seem to know what magic was, or wizardry. I hope to change that.” 

“Was this why you ran off as soon as I mentioned her?” Severus nodded, looking over towards Minerva. 

“I knew her when she was a child. When Lily got her letter, she was rude and jealous. She hasn’t changed much from then to now.” Severus sighed softly, looking back to the young boy sleeping, curled up on his side, clutching his cloak. Minerva watched him a moment before sighing.

“Alright. I won’t tell Albus but I suspect he’ll figure it out soon. Think of something quick, so you may keep him, Severus.” He nodded, not looking up as she left, before letting a soft smile come to his face as he watched the sleeping boy. 

As if he’d let anything take him away now that Severus knew Harry was safe. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhhh yea. This is happening still. I dunno how much I like it but I've been sitting on it for a bit so meh

There was a lot of work to be done. Harry slept through the night, curled up on Severus’s bed, head in his lap while Severus worked on papers and letters, contacting as many people as he could think of to help him. There were a lot, surprisingly, either he knew would be willing to help him, or had a debt that he would call in for this. The amount of owls he would send out from Hogwarts would be immense, but the fleet of owls they had could take the blow over the break. The kids wouldn’t be back for another two weeks, which was plenty of time. Besides, he was sending two letters per owl. Everyone he sent could handle finding a different owl to give him his reply. 

Harry stirred sometime around five am, started and jerked away from Severus. Severus said nothing on it, but smiled kindly at Harry when the boy turned towards him, panicked, before calming down a bit upon seeing him. It wasn’t exactly common for a child to calm upon seeing him, but Severus felt he could get used to it. 

“Hi…” Harry murmured, and Severus smiled softly, setting aside the letter he had been working on before the boy had awoken. 

“Hello young one.” He answered, and Harry made a face, but didn’t comment on it. Severus hummed, resolving to find some sort of nickname for him. It might help him a bit, and honestly he needed all the help he could get. “Are you hungry?” 

Harry shook his head quickly, but his stomach growled and gave away the truth. Severus hummed softly, then called for a house elf. Harry stared openly as the house elf appeared out of thin air, and Severus held back a smile, asking breakfast for the both of them before sending the elf away. 

“What was that?” Harry asked, staring at the spot the elf had been moments before. 

“A house elf. They help wizards with certain things, like bringing food or cleaning.” Severus watched Harry frown a moment, before looking over at him. 

“I did that a lot with Aunt Petunia.” He murmured, and Severus sighed softly. 

“But you won’t have to here. You’re young, you don’t need to be worrying about cleaning or cooking just yet.” Severus shifted, rubbing a hand down Harry’s back, which seemed to be the right thing to do, as Harry shifted and leaned against Severus’s side, smiling softly. 

They sat like that for a few moments, before the elf appeared again, carrying a tray that they carefully set on the bed, before bowing and cracking out of the room once more. Harry watched this with fascination, eyes wide and nearly glowing with excitement. Severus let a smile come to his face as he watched the young boy, before shifting and tugging the platter closer to them. Harry looked at it, before looking away quickly, almost guiltily.

“Harry.” He waited a moment, before Harry looked up at him again, biting his lip nervously. “You don’t need to ask permission for breakfast. Anything on the platter you can eat.” Harry watched him quietly, before looking over at the food. He hesitated a moment more, before looking up at him. 

“You… don’t wanna eat first?” He asked softly. Severus held back the scowl that wanted to come to his face, instead smiling softly at Harry. 

“Well, there’s more than enough food for the both of us. I figured we’d both eat at the same time.” Severus watched Harry for a moment, as the boy stared back at him, before carefully reaching out and grabbing a piece of toast. Severus smiled at him a moment, ignoring the food for a moment in order to finish the letter he had been working on before Harry had woken up. He didn’t have the best eating habits either, but he had to eat something to set a good enough example for Harry, he assumed. The boy had obviously never been able to eat much, if he had been allowed to eat at all. 

“After breakfast, I want to have a friend of mine come down.” Severus hummed, looking over at Harry from the corner of his eye, watching him reactions without letting him realize what he was doing. “She’s rather good at medical spell work, so I thought she might come down to look you over, just in case.” Harry frowned to himself, carefully eating his toast, staring down at the bed. “Is that alright?” 

“Does she have to?” Harry looked up at him, squinting a bit. Severus hummed a moment. 

“Well, eventually, she does have to, yes, but I suppose, if you wanted, we could go out for a bit before hand. I do have to stop by Gringotts, and eventually you are going to need clothing that actually fits.” Severus shifted to one side, grabbing another spare piece of parchment and began to scribble a list down it in messy handwriting that used to plague his school essays. 

Harry frowned deeper, but didn’t say anything as he watched Severus work, leaning over to watch his hand fly across the parchment, occasionally dipping into the ink, accidentally dripping some on the bed. Harry watched this, eyes narrowing a bit. He didn’t seem the type to be messy, but sometimes he got too excited about things and became a whirlwind. There hadn’t been much to get him into that frenzy recently. 

Severus coaxed Harry to eat another piece of toast and a couple pieces of fruit before letting him stop, gathering the letters and watching Harry for a moment, before opening the door of his room, leaning out of his room, eyes narrowed, before his eye caught the ghost at the end of the hall. 

The Grey Lady wasn’t often in the dungeons, but she was the least scary of the ghosts. Severus caught her attention, waving her over and into his quarters. She blinked at the child sitting on the bed, petting down the blankets to feel how soft they were, smiling to himself. She looked towards Snape, who sighed. 

“I have letters to post. Watch him for a time. Do not let Dumbledore find out about him if you can help it.” The Grey Lady paused before nodding, and Sevuers shifted slightly to face the bed. “Harry?” His head flew up, and he blinked at the woman floating next to Severus. “This is the Grey Lady. She’s going to watch you for a bit of time while I get some more work done. When I get back, we’re going to go out into London for a bit, alright?” Harry nodded, eyes focused on the Grey Lady. Severus spared another glance towards her himself, before leaving the room, shutting and charming the door shut. 

The two were silent for some time, before Harry spoke up. “You’re really pretty, Miss Grey Lady.” 

She blinked, staring at him a moment before smiling, floating over towards him and appearing to settle onto the bed, sitting next to him. “Thank you, young one. You don’t need to call me that, however. You may call me Helena.” Harry blinked, then nodded at her, smiling. 

“Okay…” He tilted his head, then reached out towards her, eyes going wide as his hand passed right through her arm. Helena laughed slightly. 

“Don’t worry child. I am a ghost, the ghost of the Ravenclaw house to be exact. It’s to be expected that I’m not entirely corporeal.” Helena smiled at him, and Harry nodded slowly, frowning. 

“Why are you a ghost?” he asked quietly, and Helena sighed. 

“It is a long tale, young one, and not a happy one. Not one I assume your current guardian would want me telling you. Perhaps when you grow up a bit more, I’ll tell you all about it, but for now, let’s focus on happier stories.” Harry didn’t seem content with this, but didn’t argue, nodding a bit as she began to tell him stories of her life, speaking over her mother most of the time, about being the daughter of a founder of Hogwarts. 

Severus came back in nearly a half an hour later, having posted all his letters, to find Helena talking quietly to Harry, whose eyes were glued to the ghost, taking in all the information she lay in front of him. Severus waited until that particular story came to a close before interrupting. 

“Thank you, Grey Lady, for watching him for some time. If you wish, you can come down more often, visit him. Just, for awhile, keep his presence here a secret from Dumbledore. It will be better for everyone.” The Lady nodded, before standing and drifting off through the wall. Severus looked over towards Harry, who smiled at him. 

“She had really nice stories. Are there more ghosts who tell stories like that?” He asked, shifting to slide off the bed and stand. Severus hummed, pretending to think. 

“I think Nearly Headless Nick would tell a few stories if asked nicely. I don’t know about the Baron, but he’s a bit more frightening than the Lady or Nick.” Severus lifted Harry into his arms, and walked across the hall into his office, charming it shut with them inside, taking a handful of floo powder. 

“What’s that?” Harry asked, pointing to his hand, as Severus carefully stepping into the fireplace. 

“It’s Floo Powder. It helps us travel through the fireplaces to other places.” He answered, making sure his voice was clear before shouting. “Leaky Cauldron!” 

They landed less than gracefully, Harry frightened by their sudden travel from one place to another, clutching onto Severus’s robes with a small fist, face turned into his chest. Severus hummed, placing a hand on the back of his head, both to soothe him and to keep his head turned there. It would be easier if no one recognized him by his scar, to get to Gringotts and then out to Muggle London. They were less likely to get noticed out there, but first he needed the funds to be transferred to some muggle money. Luckily for him, Harry seemed content to hide his face in Severus’s chest as he sped walked through Diagon Alley to Gringotts. He would have just flooed there, but the goblins had spoke of a distaste for the wizards who came through that way last time he was there, and Severus would do anything to stay on the good side of goblins. 

He stepped into the building, looking around a moment, and approached a teller carefully, keeping Harry hidden partially, as the boy fiddled with part of his cloak in silence. The goblin looked up in distaste, and Severus sighed softly, looking down towards Harry. “If possible, I need to see the wills of Lily J. Potter and James Potter.” 

The goblin stared at him a quiet moment, before his eyes flicked down towards the boy in his arms, and looked back to Severus. “I’ll take it that is their son?” He asked, keeping his voice down just as Severus had. He nodded a moment, shifting Harry’s weight to hold him better. Harry wasn’t exactly heavy, but Severus also wasn’t exactly strong either. The goblin stared a moment, before nodding. “Alright then. I’ll gather the wills. I assume you want them read?” Severus nodded, and then was led off to a side room, where he finally allowed Harry to lift his head properly. The boy settled in his lap, however, keeping his head against his chest, quiet. 

It took a few minutes, but eventually a second goblin came in, one that Severus recognized as Griphook. He settled in the chair across from him, holding two scrolls in one hand, setting them both down before looking over to Severus. “Which first.” 

Severus was quiet, watching Harry as he fiddled with a loose string on Severus’s sleeve before answering. “James Potter.” 

Griphook nodded a moment, taking one of the scrolls and opening it. As he did, Jame’s voice spread through the room. 

_ The Official Will of James Potter. Here’s hoping I’m alive long enough that this all doesn’t matter.  _

_ First off, if I am the only one to die, everything in the Potter line goes to Lily. She deserves it, and she’ll handle it so much better than I ever could. If she goes with me, as I’m sure she might, everything goes to our son, Harry.  _

_ If we are dead. Our Secret Keeper was not Sirius. He did not betray us. It was Peter Pettigrew, an unregistered rat animiguis. If we manage to get through this, I’ll take this bit out, since no one needs to know about our little secret, but, well, if we don’t, you know who to look for.  _

_ Who gets custody of him depends on who can. Our list is this: _

_ Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. They’re likely to raise him together if I put them on separate lines anyways, so might as well just accept the fate and have him go to them together.  _

_ Severus Snape. As much as I don’t like him, Lily has faith he’ll change, and, well, who am I to go against someone like her? She’s smart enough to know her friend after all. But, Snivillus, if you do have our boy, or you’re about to get our boy, just know I’ll be watching you, and if I have to, I’ll come back from the dead to fight you myself. Though you wouldn’t need to worry about me if you hurt him. Lily is scarier, which I assume you know.  _

_ Finally, Minerva McGonagall. She is a scary old one, but, hey, she’d raise him right. I trust her enough to find someone if she can’t and no one else can.  _

_ Under no circumstances is our son to go to Petunia Dursley. She is a hag of a woman, and I want to make sure that this boy doesn’t go anywhere near her.  _

_ Under no circumstances is Albus Dumbledore to have decision rights over what happens to Harry. I trust him with war time things, but sometimes I wonder about him. I don’t want someone like him to be in charge of my son.  _

There was a list of names, as James officially signed his will and the various witnesses signed to have been there to witness. Severus was silent as the revelation came to light. He should have had Harry a long time before now. He looked down at the boy, who was quiet, head against his chest, eyes closed. Severus didn’t know if he was sleeping or not, but hoped so. He looked back to Griphook, who finished storing James’s will again, and brought out Lily’s. 

_ The Official Will of Lily J. Potter nee Evans.  _

_ If James is still alive, everything I own officially is his. Though I doubt he’ll let me die on my own on this, I assume we are both gone. Neither of us would leave without fighting for our family. If this is the case, everything goes to Harry. I hope to everything he’s okay.  _

_ Our secret keeper was Peter Pettigrew. He was a rat, literally, an animagus, and figuratively. I had a bad feeling about him, but James trust him so I pushed it aside. If we’re gone, well, obviously I made a mistake.  _

_ The Custody lineage is as follows:  _

_ Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. They are childish, but I trust them with my own life. They would do anything for this boy, as Uncle Moony and Uncle Padfoot. I’m sure they would care for him well. You two, take care of our son. Don’t let each other fall too deep into despair. _

_ Severus Snape. Sev, I know you regret your choices. I know you do. James is skeptical, but I know you well enough to know this. If not the two idiots up there, take care of my son. He is important to me, and you’re important to me. I’m sure you’ll see what I mean once you hold him. I just wish that we could have reconnected before this all happened.  _

_ Minerva McGonagall. She dealt with the Marauders. Minerva, I’m sure you can handle this, and I’m sure you know this. I just want you to know I trust you enough with my son. You dealt with James in third year, you can do anything.  _

_ Under no circumstance is Harry to go to my sister, Petunia Dursely. She would do horrible things to my son, I am sure, and I refuse to let that ever happen to him. Keep her away from his life. She doesn’t deserve to know him.  _

_ Under no circumstance is Albus Dumbledore to have rights over my son’s life. The only time he should do anything that might affect him, is if Harry goes to Hogwarts and Dumbledore makes a choice about the school. I don’t trust him with my son, and I refuse to change my decision on that. Lucky for me, James agrees.  _

Again, the same sort of name list started before Griphook packed away her will. Severus was quiet, holding Harry close to his chest, staring down at the young boy, who was definitely sleeping at this point. Griphook was silent as he held up a finger, leaving the room for a moment before returning with copies of the wills, holding them out to Severus, who shifted Harry’s weight into one arm and took them, nodding at him. “Thank you.” He mumbled, pocketing them. He stayed there for a moment more before leaving Gringotts in near silence, covering Harry with his cloak once more, hiding his face from view. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had the idea of will readings from another Snape Adopts Harry thing and I wanted one for my own. There was gonna be more to this chapter but I just couldn't figure out how to fit it in right. I'll probably put the idea I had in the next chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

Severus had planned to go into the Muggle part of London for a time, but with the revelation that he should have had Harry long before now coming to light, he no longer felt as if he could. Not to mention, Harry was exhausted, obvious from the boy drooling on his shoulder. He sighed, slipping back to the Leaky Cauldron, and back to his quarters in Hogwarts. 

Once there, Severus lay Harry in the middle of the bed, carefully covering him with one of the blankets, and stood there a moment, more than a little shocked. Logically, if he took the time to think that way, this was a good thing. With Sirius currently in Azkaban-and as much as Severus hated it, he had to free Sirius, he wouldn’t wish that hell on even them-and Lupin off the grid, he was the next thing on their list of guardians, and Petunia had been specifically listed for him not to go. WIth that in mind, Harry would stay with him, and he could easily get custody of him. 

It only mattered, of course, if they could find Lupin. Perhaps they could. Perhaps they couldn’t. Severus didn’t think it mattered. He would have everything in order before they found him, if they did. WIth all the letters he had sent before, he would be safe enough. 

His fireplace dinged quietly, and Severus looked over towards it, frowning slightly. Who would be floo calling now? He moved over, kneeling near the fireplace. 

“Severus my boy. Can I come through?” Severus’s eyes widened, and he took a small step back. 

“Give me a moment, Albus, I… need to clean up a bit.” Albus’s face disappeared from the fireplace, and Severus turned quickly. “Mipsy!” 

With a crack, a small house elf appeared, fiddling with the corner of the stark white pillow case it wore. Severus moved quickly, lifting Harry up and turning to Mipsy. 

“I need you to take him to Minerva for me. Tell her that the Headmaster came by.” Mispy nodded, shifting and wrapping an arm around the still sleeping boy, and apperating out of the wards. Severus sighed, pulling the blankets back into general order before tapping the fireplace with his wand, alerting Albus. 

Albus came through into Severus’s quarters, taking a look around appearing absentminded, but Severus could see the calculated look in his eyes. Severus stared back him, shields in his mind flying up before Albus could look him in the eyes. 

“Severus. I’ve been keeping track of young Harry Potter recently, and, well, I seem to have come into a problem. He’s disappeared from his Aunt and Uncle’s house.” Severus kept a tight lid on his rage, and nodded slightly. 

“Unfortunate.” He stared down Albus, before finally the old man looked away, sighing softly. 

“I need you to look into it, Severus. See if you can find him and get him back to his family.” Severus sighed, before nodding.

“I’ll see what I can find, Albus.” Severus offered nothing, and, after he sent a final searching look at the potions master, Albus stepped back into the fireplace and took off.   
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Minerva sat quiet in her office, going over some of the homework still left over to grade from before the holidays. She was scratching her way through a fifth years abysmal essay when a small pop sounded in her office. She looked up from her work, seeing a small house elf, holding- 

“Mipsy?” 

“Miss McGonagall! Master Albus came into Mister Snape’s Quarters! He is telling Mipsy to take Mister Potter to Miss McGonagall so Mipsy is bringing Mister Potter to you, miss!” McGonagall nodded a moment, shifting and lifting Harry into her own arms, frowning at just how light he was. 

“Thank you Mipsy. When Severus’s quarters are clear, if he doesn’t come himself, could you come down yourself, to take Harry back down?” 

“Yes Miss!” Mipsy bowed quickly, ears falling forward, before she brushed them back behind her head as she stood again. 

“Thank you, Mipsy, you can go now.” Mipsy nodded and popped out, most likely back to the kitchens. Minerva sighed softly, holding Harry close to her chest, before settling down in her chair, leaning back with him. He was sleeping, quiet and peaceful for now, and Minerva didn’t want to wake him by trying to continue grading her essays. 

She looked down at him, frowning slightly. He was far too light, she knew that much, and he looked pale and drawn, as if he had been sick and never fully got over it. Minerva thought that it must be true, seeing how Severus seemed so upset when he brought him back from the Dursleys’. She wouldn’t be much surprised. She had told Albus that they were the worst kind of Muggles. 

Only a few minutes later, the fireplace dinged softly, and she shifted, leaning back to let Severus through. He brushed some soot off of himself, before moving over to her. 

“Albus knows Harry isn’t there anymore. He seems to either suspect that I have him, or I know who does. He wants me to look into his disappearance.” Minerva nodded a moment, shifting and letting Severus take Harry back into his arms. 

Severus stood there a moment, looking over Harry, one hand settled on his back, thumb rubbing in small circles. Minerva was quiet, allowing him that moment, before she shifted, sitting up and dragging Severus’s attention away from the boy in his arms. He sighed softly, shaking his head. 

“I… took him to Gringotts earlier today.” He murmured, slowly circling around her desk to settle into the chair there, usually reserved for students. It was a bit smaller than her own, and he shifted, bringing his legs up and holding himself in such a way to curl into a ball around Harry, protective over the small boy. 

Minerva watched this all, passively, keeping her emotions off her face, though that didn’t mean the strike of joy racing through her was any less true. He was already more of a parent than Minerva ever thought he could be. “Oh?” 

“He was supposed to come to me.” Severus said softly, looking down at the mess of black that was flattened against his shoulder, where Harry was drooling. “After the mutts, it was me. Mutually, Lily and Potter decided that if the other Marauders couldn’t care for their child, I… I would get him.” 

She raised an eyebrow at him, staying silent as he seemed to finally begin to process the information he had learned earlier. She wasn’t that surprised. During the war, she and Lily would sit together and drink tea, and Lily often spoke of how she would try to find Severus again, to forgive him for everything, once the war was over. Severus seemed inclined to stay quiet for now, staring at the small boy in his arms. Minerva sighed. “She forgave you for any of the mistakes you may have made, Severus. I have my suspicions she forgave you soon after the day that broke you two. It was pride, that kept her away.” 

Severus looked up at her, blinking quickly, in a way that had Minerva suspecting he was close to tears. She sighed, then took the chance, standing and walking around the desk herself, hugging Severus close to her. As expected, he froze. 

Unexpected was him shifting Harry in his arms to have one free to cling back to Minerva. They sat there a moment, Minerva tactfully ignoring the wet spot growing on her shoulder, before Severus sighed, pulling a way and swiping his sleeve over his eyes, rubbing away the tear blotches, hiding away the proof of his emotions. Minerva said nothing, letting have this, casting a silent drying charm at her robes as she moved back around to her chair. They sat in silence together, Severus holding Harry close to his chest, petting his hair down quietly, Minerva scratching through a few more essays. 

When Minerva next looked up, it was to see Severus, eyes closed, curled around Harry. She smiled a moment, before conjuring a blanket and covering the two of them with it, letting them sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Please comment, I really wanna know if more people want this!


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